RFK Jr shredded for telling anti-vaxxers he is investigating ‘chemtrails’

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has invited ridicule by announcing he is “looking at chemtrails” and their adverse impact on public health, reviving a long-debunked conspiracy theory.RFK Jr was addressing the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense at an event in Washington, D.C., Thursday when he assured his audience “you have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House”. The health secretary, who chaired the organization from 2015 to 2023, also said he planned to bring “science transparency” to their concerns about inoculations.Of the worst U.S. measles outbreak in 35 years, the RFK said: “We care about every child who dies from measles. They get headlines. I’d ask you to care about children who are dying or suffering or being injured by vaccine injuries.” Then he added: “We’re also looking at chemtrails and the impact of emissions from aircraft, and those potential impacts on health.” Kennedy was alluding to the chemical trails left behind by planes as they cross the sky, which are visible from the ground, resemble wisps of cirrhus cloud and evaporate harmlessly within minutes.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has raise eyebrows once again, this time by telling a crowd of anti-vaxxers he is investigating the impact of chemtrails on public wellbeing (AFP/Getty)They are simply formations of ice crystals that occur naturally when a jet’s hot exhaust fumes – composed of water vapour, carbon dioxide and other particles – meet cold air at high altitudes. However, they have long been the subject of baseless speculation about their being introduced to the atmosphere deliberately by bad actors for nefarious purposes. A clip of Kennedy’s announcement posted to X by journalist Aaron Rupar was quickly slapped with a footnote linking to an Environmental Protecting Agency explainer and reading: “RFK Jr referred to ‘chemtrails,’ a conspiracy theory alleging secret chemical spraying by aircraft. “No evidence supports this; trails are condensation (contrails) and a 2016 peer-reviewed survey of 77 atmospheric experts found 76 had seen none for such programs.”The clip also attracted a storm of derision on X, with Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former pilot and astronaut, responding: “Mr Secretary, I can send you an aircraft propulsion textbook if you’d like. What you are suggesting is not real. You need to crack open a book.”Chemtrails, which occur when cold air at high altitudes meets warm exhaust fumes from planes, have long been the subject of conspiracy theories that are easily debunked (AP)“What about Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, the Easter Bunny, and the Abominable Snowman? Can we look into them too?” asked anti-Trump pundit Ron Filipkowski.Dr Neil Stone, an infectious diseases expert, suggested Kennedy might like to look into “leprechauns and unicorns” next and called him “a fool.” The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols wrote: Even some of the most right wing ‘let’s own the libs’ people around here have to be rolling their eyes at how stupid this is.” Josh Billinson of Semafor commented: “Feels like a real ‘dog that caught the car’ moment to talk about this when you’re actually in power.”Perhaps most withering of all was Marines veteran Amy McGrath, who served the secretary a “middle-school science” explanation of the facts before adding: “We’ve known how this works for a very long time.”Kennedy’s announcement was met with ridicule on social media, with an infectious diseases expert suggesting he might like to look into ‘leprechauns and unicorns’ next (AFP/Getty)Formerly an environmental lawyer, the black sheep of the fabled Kennedy clan found new prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic by promoting anti-vaccine sentiment and conspiracy theories about public health institutions, despite having no background in medical science.He is no stranger to making surprising statements, having previously revealed that a parasitic worm once devoured part of his brain and that he once stashed the carcass of a dead bear cub in Central Park. RFK Jr has also claimed to have beheaded a beached whale with a chainsaw on a family vacation and cut the genitals off a roadkill racoon to “study them later.” Under his leadership, the HHS has been accused of alienating top scientists and endangering children by splitting up the MMR vaccine into three separate shots.